Photo by @BrianSkerry
An Orca swims into a massive bait ball of herring in the winter seas of the Norwegian arctic. Orca come here to feed on these fish in the fall and stay into the polar winter, when the sun no longer rises above the horizon and light levels are extremely low. The orca use communication and coordination to gather the fish into ‘bait balls’ then swim through stunning the herring with their tails before eating them. Creating unique feeding strategies demonstrates a high degree of cognition and is a key element of whale and dolphin culture.
#orca#whales#norway #arctic #planetofthewhales

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Photo by @BrianSkerry
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! A wild bottlenose dolphin plays with diver Nigel Motyer off the west coast of Ireland. In several locations around the world, dolphins have established residency and frequently interact with humans.
Photographed #onassignmentfor @natgeo
dolphins #ireland#nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #nature #love #stpatricksday

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Photo by @BrianSkerry
A Humpback whale calf peeks at me around it's mom’s nose in the waters of the South Pacific. Humpback moms invest a lot into their offspring, with a gestation that lasts nearly a year and then spend the first year of the calf’s life teaching it all the skills it will need to survive in the sea. The calves are not born with innate knowledge of all the things they must know and must learn these from their mother. Theses bonds are strong and are an important element of whale culture.
Coverage from my upcoming project with @natgeo
#whales #humpbackwhales#parenting #planetofthewhales #whaleculture @nikonusa

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Photo by @BrianSkerry
The United Nations team used one of my Mako Shark photographs, along with a portrait of me to create this unique image - I am a mako shark! I have partnered with the Wild for Life and Clean Seas campaigns, run by the United Nations Environment Program, to help spread the word about the threats our oceans and the animals within them face, and how you can help me address them:
I’m sure you’ve been confronted with many of the issues threatening our oceans today - melting ice caps and rising sea levels, major oil spills and overfishing threatening marine animals. You probably seen pictures of sea turtles choking on plastic or maybe you’ve heard about coral reefs dying globally due to the effects of climate change. All these problems and many more are pushing our oceans’ ecosystems to the brink of collapse.
Without healthy oceans, humans cannot survive. Over half the oxygen we breathe comes from the oceans. They regulate the climate and make our planet inhabitable for humans and are key in our fight against climate change. Oceans are also home to around two billion species and around three billion people are dependent on the oceans for food.
I am therefore calling on you to help me and UN Environment in our efforts to protect them.
There are many things you can do to help save our seas and marine life:
… you can say no to single-use plastics and step up your recycling
… you can be an advocate for marine protected areas
… you can vote for a government that supports climate action and conservation and so much more!
And you can spread the word! Go to the Wild for Life website to find your kindred marine species (link here - http://bit.ly/2Eh8b5g). The website also has lots of facts to learn more about our planet’s breath-taking marine biodiversity. My kindred species is a Mako shark!
#lifebelowwater#wildforlife #WorldWildlifeDay! #CleanSeas

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Photo by @BrianSkerry
An Orca calf swims with two adults through chilly seas filled with fish scales in the waters of the Norwegian arctic. Orca come here to feed on a type of fish called herring. The orca use communication and coordination to gather the fish into ‘bait balls’ then swim through stunning the herring with their tails before eating them. Creating unique feeding strategies demonstrates highly cognitive behavior and is an element of whale and dolphin culture. I first worked with orca in Norway in 1994, and back then I was shooting film. Still challenging conditions with very low light, but using digital @nikonusa cameras made things infinitely better!
#orca #whales #smartanimals #killerwhales #norway #arctic #planetofthewhales

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Photo by @BrianSkerry
A sperm whale calf, about 6 months old, plays in sargassum weed in the waters of the eastern Caribbean Sea. With the largest brain of all animals on Earth, they are also our planet’s largest predator. Portrayed as monsters for centuries, researchers today are learning that these animals and their societies are far more complex than ever believed. Sperm whale families share unique dialects, parenting techniques and other elements of culture.
They have roamed the seas since before humans walked upright and likely possess knowledge about the ocean dating back eons.
#spermwhales#whaleculture#predators #caribbean #whales

Photo by @BrianSkerry
#NatGeo100Contest. As a National Geographic photographer for more than two decades, I wanted to announce that @Natgeo hit 100 million followers! As a thanks, they are having a photo contest for the next 24 hours only. To submit, simply post your most Nat Geo inspired photo on your feed using the hashtag #NatGeo100Contest. The top 10 photos will be posted on @natgeo and the winner gets a photo trip to Tanzania. Good luck!
My photo here shows Harp Seal Pups Kissing!
Two harp seal pups meet each other on the pack ice in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence and are touching noses as they sniff one another. Pups are generally born in this region during February and need to spend about two weeks nursing from their moms before they head off on their own.
#climatechange #canada #sealpups #babyanimals

Photo by @BrianSkerry
Three sperm whales socialize in the waters off of Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean. The whale on the bottom in this photo a calf is named ‘Digit’ and she became tangled in fishing gear in 2015. It was looking like a death sentence for the young whale, but surprisingly, in 2018, Digit was completely free!
These whales have been studied for 15 years by @shanegero , founder of the The Dominica Sperm Whale Project. In a story on the @natgeo website, writer @craigwelch tells of Shane’s work with these animals, their families and a this special story This population of whales is on a 3% annual decline due to anthropogenic stresses, such as entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. If they die off, we would lose a whale culture that possess knowledge that is unique about their home waters.
#whales #spermwhales #dominicaspermwhaleproject #whaleculture #dominica #caribbean
#oceantrash #plastictrash

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Photo by @BrianSkerry
Happy World Whale Day! - A Humpback whale calf hitches a ride on it’s mom in the waters of the South Pacific. Humpback moms invest a lot into their offspring, with a gestation that lasts nearly a year and then spends the first year of the calf’s life teaching it all the skills it will need to survive in the sea. Theses bonds are strong and are an important element of whale culture.
#whales #humpbackwhales #parenting #planetofthewhales #whaleculture

Photo by @BrianSkerry
A sperm whale calf, about 6 months old, swims directly below her mom in the waters of the Eastern Caribbean Sea. With the largest brain of all animals on Earth, they are also our planet’s largest predator. Portrayed as monsters for centuries, researchers today are learning that these animals and their societies are far more complex than ever believed. Sperm whale families share unique dialects, parenting techniques and other elements of culture.
They have roamed the seas since before humans walked upright and likely possess knowledge about the ocean dating back eons.
Coverage from my upcoming story and documentaries in @Natgeo
#spermwhales #whaleculture #predators #caribbean #whales

Photo by @BrianSkerry
A two-day old humpback whale calf rests near its mother in the waters off the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. This population of humpbacks spends the summers feeding in Antarctica, then migrate to the warmers waters in winter where calves are born. The bond between moms and calves is strong, with calves spending their first year with their mothers, during which time they nurse and are given protection while they learn behaviors essential to survival. Although much has been learned about this species throughout decades of research, many mysteries remain to be revealed with these complex societies in the sea. Coverage from my upcoming story in @natgeo
#whales #culture#southpacific #humpbackwhales #parenting

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Photo by @BrianSkerry
A Southern Right Whale and diver swim together over a shady sea floor in New Zealand’s Auckland Islands (sub-antarctic) during wintertime. These enormous whales can reach sizes of 45-feet long and weights of 70-tons.
Once hunted to the brink of extinction, Southern Right Whale populations have slowly recovered due to protection. Their cousins, the North Atlantic Right Whales however, remain the most endangered whale on Earth, with a populations of only about 450 remaining. This species is an ‘urban whale’ and lives along the Eastern Seaboard of North America traveling from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida each year. During their migrations, they frequently become entangled in fishing gear and die. Ship strikes also kill these whales each year. Despite these devastating problems, solutions exist to save them. Researchers are working with commercial fisherman (lobstermen) in New England to test new lines that will break easier should a whale become entangled. To learn more about Right Whale problems and solutions check out @newenglandaquarium and @andersoncabotcenter
#rightwhales#endangeredspecies#nz #newengland